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Diet and Cancer

Why is diet important in Cancer?

Cancer and its
treatments can sometimes make it more difficult to eat. This can lead to weight loss. If eating is difficult, it is important to try and focus on eating foods that are higher in calories and protein to help you keep your weight up.

If you are being
treated for cancer, eating well can help you:

Maintain your weight

Provide a source of energy

Help you deal with side effects from cancer treatment

Tolerate the most beneficial dose of certain treatments

Fight infection and recover faster from cancer treatment

However, this does not necessarily mean eating healthily. A good diet when you are undergoing cancer treatment may take on a different meaning to when you are well and this may help you through your cancer journey. It is important that you eat enough to make sure your body gets all the nutrients it needs.
Nutrition is an essential part of your cancer treatment and recovery, and overall it may help you to get through your cancer journey.

How does Cancer affect diet?

It can sometimes be
difficult to eat enough with cancer. There are many reasons for this; it can be
as a result of the cancer itself, or due to the side effects of the different
treatments. Sometimes, weight loss may have happened before a diagnosis of
cancer was made.

Type of cancer

Type of cancer treatment

Changes in nutrient metabolism

Psychological and emotional impact of cancer

Type of Cancer

The type of cancer
can affect how well you are able to eat. If the site of the tumour (cancer) is
in the upper part of the gut (mouth, oesophagus, stomach) this may affect the
texture of the foods you can eat. If the tumour is in the lower part of the gut
(intestines) this may affect your body’s ability to absorb and use nutrients
normally.

Type of Cancer treatment

In many cases, the treatment of cancer involves one or more of the following treatments:

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is a type of treatment for cancer where medicine is used to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy is given at regular intervals (cycles) and could last a number of months.

Radiotherapy

Radiotherapy or radiation therapy is the use of a type of x-ray to destroy cancer cells which leaves them unable to grow. It can be given either as:

external radiotherapy from outside the body using x-rays.

internal radiotherapy from a radioactive material placed within the body close to the tumour.

Surgery

Through surgery, the tumour and any nearby tissue that may contain cancer cells could be removed.

Biological therapy

Biological or targeted therapies are drugs that influence the body’s immune system to destroy cancer cells.

Although these treatments are very effective at destroying cancer cells, some healthy cells are also damaged, such as those in the mouth, digestive tract, and hair follicles. This can lead to side effects, such as changes in taste, mouth sores, nausea, diarrhoea, and hair loss. More specifically, many of these side effects can cause eating problems that put some people off their food.

Changes in the body’s metabolism

In most types of
cancer, the way the body uses nutrients can change. Tumours may produce chemicals
that change the way the body uses or absorbs certain nutrients from food. As a
result, the body’s use of protein, carbohydrates and fat may be affected.

Cancer cachexia, also known as the ''wasting syndrome' is a condition where some of the following symptoms may be present: severe weight loss, loss of appetite, feeling sick, anaemia (low red blood cells),
weakness and fatigue. Scientists do not fully understand why, however most believe
that the cancer releases chemicals into the blood that contribute to the loss
of fat and muscle. This may in turn speed up your metabolism, so that you burn
off calories faster than normal. Therefore, even though you may be eating
normally or even more than normal, you may still be losing weight as your body
may be using up more calories (energy) than usual.

If you suspect that you have cancer cachexia, make sure you seek the advice of your health care professional.

Psychological and emotional impact of Cancer

There are also
emotional reasons why someone may not eat as much during cancer treatment. If
you are living with a diagnosis of cancer you may be worried, or
even struggling with its treatment. This can sometimes affect appetite and how
much you feel like eating. If you are
finding it difficult to cope, you may find it helpful to speak to someone who
can help you with this. It is best to
speak to your hospital team and they may be able to organise a referral to
counselling services.

Nutricia specialises in the delivery of
advanced medical nutrition for the sick, the infirm and the elderly.

Nutricia see advanced nutrition as an
integral part of healthcare. Through pioneering nutritional discoveries, they
aim to enhance experience of care, quality of life, and where possible help
people live longer and healthier lives. What sets Nutricia apart is their
delivery of best care, delivering integrated product and service solutions for
patients, consumers, and the carers, healthcare professionals, partner
organisations and Nutricia employees that support them.

Nutricia are the leading Medical Nutrition
company in Europe and part of the Danone Group.
Danone’s overall mission is to bring health through food to as many
people as possible across the world.

Through our
Nutricia Homeward service we deliver nutritional feeds, enteral feeding systems
and nursing care directly to patients’ homes. We tailor our products and
services to meet the needs of healthcare professionals and their patients
(adult and paediatric) the length and breadth of the UK.